As expected, the top-ranked player in the world struggled in his first round match against Russian Igor Andreev, but he had no problem vs. Romanian Victor Hanescu and should breeze past Montanes, whom he's defeated twice on clay, Federer's weakest surface.

Circle that potential quarterfinal meeting with No. 6 seed Nikolay Davydenko, however. The Russian has beaten Federer the last two times they've played, including earlier this month at Doha, so we could see the incredible streak of 22 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals come to an end.

Earlier this month, Baghdatis beat Hewitt in three sets at Sydney, so this is actually a tougher matchup than the Australian would've had with No. 17 David Ferrer. However, you have to wonder how much Baghdatis has left after that long five-setter with the Spaniard.

Koubek got a break when No. 23 Juan Carlos Ferrero lost to qualifier Ivan Dodig in the first round, but I think Koubek's run ends against last year's semifinalist.

Nikolay Davydenko (6) def. Juan Monaco (30)

I thought it would be Ernests Gulbis standing here instead of Monaco, but the Argentinian won the first round meeting between the two and advanced to the Round of 32. Davydenko holds a 3-1 lead in his career against Monaco, including a hard court win last year in Valencia.

I had the unseeded Istomin getting this far, but I still don't see him beating the '08 champ.

Mikhail Youzhny (20) def. Lukasz Kubot

I thought this would be Richard Gasquet and Tommy Robredo, but Youzhny rebounded from a two-set deficit to beat Gasquet in two tiebreakers and 6-4 in the fifth. Meanwhile, Kubot didn't even have to contend with No. 16 Robredo after he lost to Santiago Giraldo in the first round. I'll give the edge to Youzhny because he reached the quarters two years ago, while Kubot is playing in his first Aussie Open.

Isner leads the all-time series 2-1, including a win on the hard courts of Indian Wells last year.

Ivo Karlovic def. Ivan Ljubicic (24)

These two Croatians have only met once on Tour when Karlovic beat Ljubicic in three sets at Nottingham way back in '05. That's not a lot to go on, but Karlovic has been playing well this year, taking No. 6 Davydenko to two tiebreakers at Doha and then beating 13 seed Radek Stepanek in the first round here.